ABA 2023-24: Owls and Ambassadors emerge big men’s A-grade winners, Raiders pinch second straight women’s win

A clinical Barking Owls and Ambassadors emerged the biggest winners in the penultimate round of the season in the Albany Basketball Association men’s A-grade competition on Tuesday night. The Owls were electrifying early with brilliant passing and devastating fast breaks on their way to the 56-32 win over Denmark. Evan Delbene (19 points) had his running floater on song in the first half, while Harry Watters (12) sunk two from long range as the Owls burst to 12-2 run in the opening 10 minutes. The Owls were staunch in defence, not allowing Denmark any easy looks, and took a commanding 15-point lead into the main break. They started their second half as clinical as their first and ran away to set up their 24-point victory. Denmark’s Luke Wilson toiled hard for his side with a team-high 13 points. The loss leaves Denmark one point adrift of the fourth-placed North Albany Kangaroos with one game to play. Ambassadors beat Railways by 12 points on Tuesday night, handing their opponents their fourth consecutive loss. Zac Beeck scored a game-high 13 points for Ambassadors and teammate Todd Knuiman (9) converted two from long range in their 37-25 victory. James Penson was the only double-digit scorer for the Tigers with 10 points, which included two threes. The Kangaroos defeated Griffins Crusaders by five points in their round 15 fixture. Calum Dixon, Beauden East and Drew Willcocks each converted eight points to lead their side to a 36-31 victory. Jayden-Paul Devenish hit a game-high 13 points as the Crusaders’ shining light. Sonics secured their 15th straight win of the season after defeating Albany Raiders on forfeit. Barking Owls, Denmark and Albany Raiders all clinched victories in the ABA women’s A-grade fixtures on Tuesday night. Raiders claimed their second successive victory after defeating Sonics 2 39-33. Dakota Bremner led the Raiders with 10 points, including one triple, while Keely Berry and, Ava Marmion and Tatum Whalley each contributed six. Lauren Bracewell and Aleesha Narkle dug deep for Sonics 2 with 11 points each. Second-placed Denmark survived a scare after holding off a determined Sonics 3 side to win by three points. Both teams struggled to find their offensive groove but Denmark’s Danielle Carne hit a game-high 12 points in her side’s 24-21 victory. The loss ended Sonics 3’s hopes of making the finals and the top four is now set heading into the final round. The Owls made light work of Valkyries, smashing their opponents by 24 points to score their ninth consecutive victory. Rebecca Benson again dominated the floor with 15 points and nailed three from the perimeter, while Casey Gabriel and Tatum Whalley each contributed 12 points. Valkyries’ Shanaya Weeden converted a team-high 10 points.